The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Joplin Metro

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October 23, 2007

Carl Junction to consider new turf for football field

By Joe Hadsall

jhadsall@joplinglobe.com

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Carl Junction R-1 Board of Education seeks to join Joplin and Webb City in equipping its football field with synthetic turf.

The board, on Tuesday, voted 7-0 to request proposals for replacing the field at Bulldog Stadium. Superintendent Phil Cook said it makes sense for the district to invest in a field that can be used by more students.

“It’s a better use to have a surface that can be used by hundreds of kids,” Cook said. “That kind of traffic on a grass field would ruin it. Our field is used during the fall months for football only.”

Cook said a proposal will be drafted later this week. The board could make a decision on a proposal during its November or December meeting, Cook said.

Rob Herron, board president, said the turf would change Bulldog Stadium from a football field to an athletic site. The field could be used by several different school sports and activities, as well as youth leagues.

“Every child in the district would have an opportunity to use it,” Herron said. “Right now, it’s just a football field.”

A new junior high school is being built near the stadium. Herron said the stadium could be used for physical-education classes for grades seven through 12.

The cost of the field is unknown at this point, Cook said. Herron said the board is expecting a price tag around $500,000 to $700,000.

Webb City paid $575,000 for its new synthetic turf at Cardinal Stadium. Joplin’s Junge Field was outfitted with such a surface for about $846,000.

Bulldog Stadium was rebuilt in 2003 after a tornado damaged it and other school buildings. No other renovations for the stadium are planned.

In other meeting business:

n The board voted 6-1 to maintain its involvement in a statewide lawsuit about education spending. Board member Larry Cowger cast the negative vote.

Carl Junction is a member of the Committee for Educational Equality, one of the groups suing the state over its funding formula for education. The committee was dealt a loss by Cole County Circuit Court Judge Richard Callahan, who dismissed all of the committee’s claims earlier this year.

“We think what we are doing is right,” Herron said. “It’s in the best interest of the kids in our district.”

Cook said a meeting of CEE superintendents would produce a decision about whether to appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. That meeting will be held on Friday in Lake of the Ozarks.

n The board heard an update on construction of the district’s new junior-high building.

Construction is behind by about four weeks, because of weather and the availability of steel.

Assistant Superintendent David Stephens said the district should make up the four weeks by doubling up construction over the next four weeks. The district will meet with the foreman and architect in February for a more realistic update on a completion date, Stephens said.

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